Chapter 446 Extra Chapter: Jingzhou
Jingzhou is a beautiful place with clear waters and lush mountains.
The only downside is that there are many mountains and rivers, so not much grain can be grown. Officials who come to this place can hardly make any money off the land.
Liu Wenshu did not come for the money.
He came because even such a poor place as Ganzhou is now overflowing with grain, so there's no reason why Jingzhou can't be the same.
While staying in the imperial court would certainly offer a better future, he no longer wanted to stay and was tired of it.
The majestic mountains in the distance were once the route Ye Wan took, and now Liu Wenshu and Ye Cao have arrived.
Ye Cao lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the city gate not far away. "Madam, we've arrived."
The city was prosperous, but the people outside the city mostly lived in poverty, as the group learned as soon as they arrived in Jingzhou.
"It looks good, but there are not enough people." Madam Liu looked a little unwell from the long journey, but her spirits were still good.
Ye Cao spoke gently, "There will be more people once we get into the city."
Lord Ma, who is now in charge of Jingzhou, is already waiting at the city gate with all the officials, big and small.
Upon seeing the carriage from afar, they ran over to pay their respects.
"Your humble servant Ma Yu respectfully welcomes Lord Liu."
This guy came down from above, and I heard he's a close advisor to the emperor, even more important than an imperial envoy. These people need to be on their guard.
Liu Wenshu dismounted and said, “Lord Ma, you are too kind. I came to Jingzhou to work with my colleagues to improve the lives of the people. There is no need for such a grand gesture.”
The colleagues following behind Lord Ma all understood.
I originally thought that the officials coming from the capital would be quite ostentatious, but I didn't expect that my flattery would backfire.
They've already made it clear that they're here for the people, so stop with the empty talk.
"Yes, yes." Lord Ma smiled broadly, showing no embarrassment whatsoever.
Officials need to be thick-skinned, otherwise they can't hold office.
"Lord Liu, I will have my wife make arrangements for our family members immediately."
Madam Ma was waiting inside the city and had already cleaned Liu Wenshu's residence in advance.
As Lord Ma spoke, he glanced at the carriage and was surprised to find that it contained so little, and there seemed to be very few people inside.
Wasn't this Lord Liu supposed to bring his family to his post? Why does it seem like he has very few family members?
He dared not look too long and led the way for Liu Wenshu.
When they arrived at the arranged residence, Madam Ma was already waiting for them.
When the carriage curtain was lifted, a young woman's face appeared. She had her hair styled like a married woman and was dressed in a way that made her look like she wasn't a maid. Madam Ma greeted her warmly.
"Madam Liu, let me help you."
"No need, thank you, don't trouble yourself."
Ye Cao turned to help Old Madam Liu, "Old Madam, please take it easy."
Madam Liu looked at Ye Cao with affection, "Alright, you must have had a hard journey. Don't take care of me anymore. I have people with me. You should rest and recover."
Ye Cao smiled and said, "It's alright. It's my blessing to be able to serve the old lady. I'm not tired."
Ye Cao greeted Madam Ma and the wives of the other two officials, and then sent them home on the pretext that the old lady needed to rest.
"Mrs. Ma, did you hear that? That person just now... what was her name?"
A lady next to Mrs. Ma asked her. She too had been arranged by her husband to come.
Old lady? Then isn't this Madam Liu?
"How's it going? Have the people been arranged?"
As soon as Madam Ma returned, Lord Ma began to inquire about her.
The new official, unsure of his temperament and difficult to deal with, sent his wife to try and get closer to him.
Don't underestimate women; social skills can be very important for them at times.
As soon as Madam Ma returned, she threw a tantrum, saying, "You should at least find out who she is before sending me there. I spent so much time trying to curry favor with her, only to find out she's not Lord Liu's wife at all."
It would be one thing if she were trying to curry favor with Madam Liu, but it turned out that the person in question wasn't Madam Liu at all, and she really lost face.
"No? How could that be?" Lord Ma said in disbelief. "With such bearing, how could she not be the lady?"
Could it be one of the concubines?
But even concubines can't wear bright red clothes. Although I only saw a corner of it, it was definitely bright red.
In Jingzhou, especially in Licheng, when wives and concubines were all present when people went out, they would usually wear bright red or purple to make it easy for people to distinguish which one was the principal wife.
Madam Ma looked displeased. "How would I know? But that woman is really shameless. Could she be some maidservant who climbed up to act arrogantly?"
"I'm so angry! I'm a proper lady, and I'm actually dealing with maids. Don't make me go next time. Go by yourself if you want to."
Achoo!
Ye Cao sneezed, thinking to himself that someone must be talking about him. He looked at his red clothes, smiled, and went back to his room to rest.
This dress was specially given to her by Old Madam Liu after they arrived in Jingzhou. How could she not understand Old Madam Liu's intentions?
Feeling tired and sleepy along the way, Madam Liu couldn't fall asleep now that they had arrived.
Liu Wenshu did not disturb Ye Cao, but instead invited a doctor to prescribe some calming medicine.
Madam Liu dismissed everyone and spoke softly, "Wen Shu, Cao'er is a good woman. You should marry her openly and honestly, otherwise how will she be able to go out in public?"
Those who came today were all wives of officials, as Old Madam Liu clearly saw.
If Ye Cao had no status, sooner or later there would be all sorts of gossip. The temple is small but the wind blows strong. The more remote the place, the more it values empty reputation.
She wouldn't face these troubles if she stayed in the capital; no one would be so bored as to offend the Empress's own sister.
But in Jingzhou, Liu Wenshu's every move is now being watched by his subordinates.
Liu Wenshu was silent for a moment, then said, "Grandmother, I have already asked people to find a safe house for me. I won't be coming back for the next couple of days."
His not living here will not affect the reputation of Leaf Grass.
Old Madam Liu got angry, "What nonsense are you talking about? She's a stranger in this place, how can I feel at ease letting her live alone?"
"Grandmother, you should rest now."
Liu Wenshu didn't want to say anything more, so he turned around and left, which greatly angered Old Madam Liu.
This stubborn guy, what's he so stubborn about?
Ye Cao is such a good woman, how could she possibly wrong him?
Liu Wenshu didn't feel wronged; he felt that Ye Cao had been wronged.
He had someone else in his heart before, and although he has let go of that now, he still doesn't deserve such a fine leaf.
The house that Liu Wenshu had asked them to find was found the next day.
Without Liu Wenshu reminding her, Ye Cao moved over.
Since she's already here, there's no rush.
"I'll find someone to buy a few reliable servants to serve us. Until then, you can use my grandmother's maidservant. Is that alright?" Liu Wenshu asked Ye Cao gently.
"I don't need any maids to serve me here. As for finding someone, I can do it myself. You don't need to worry about it," Ye Cao said to Liu Wenshu.
Liu Wenshu looked away, unsure of what to say.
The next day, someone was sent over for Ye Cao to choose from.
Ye Cao chose a burly maid and an old nanny.
Officials in Jingzhou who wanted to investigate were curious about Ye Cao's identity. Since Madam Ma didn't come, the wife of a minor official did.
Ye Cao spoke succinctly, saying nothing, yet she managed to capture the entire current situation in Jingzhou.
The official's wife went home happily, but when she told her husband about it, she was scolded and realized that she hadn't found out anything, not even Ye Cao's identity.
Ye Cao didn't care about any of that. After settling down, she started doing some small business and opened a small pharmacy, selling cheap and commonly used medicines. She also tried to build closer relationships with her neighbors and spent time with Old Madam Liu from time to time.
Liu Wenshu was very busy as a new official, and Ye Cao usually didn't bother him.
Days passed by, and in just half a year, Ye Cao adapted to life here.
Today she closed the shop door and planned to go to Old Madam Liu's place to have dinner with her.
It's been raining for the past few days, the roads are flooded, and there are far fewer people around.
Liu Wenshu should be going home for dinner today.
When they arrived at the door, they found the inkstone.
"Yantai, what brings you here today?" Yecao greeted him.
Yantai bowed to Yecao and said, "Second Miss, the master has gone outside the city to relocate the villagers. He asked me to inform the old lady and you so that we don't have to wait for him to come back for dinner."
Now that he's married and has children, he's only felt a little embarrassed when he first met Ye Cao; he has no other thoughts about her now.
The two were from completely different worlds, and perhaps they weren't that fond of each other at first, but spending so much time together without other women inevitably led to attraction.
Originally, the inkstone didn't come with them. A few months later, he brought his whole family to continue working for Liu Wenshu.
"Evacuate the people from outside the city? Why evacuate them?" Ye Cao understood the key point.
"Such heavy rain might cause flash floods. Adults, please evacuate all the villagers at the foot of the mountain first." Yantai regretted his words as soon as he finished speaking.
The young master had told him not to tell the old lady the truth, so why did he blurt it all out?
Ye Cao nodded, "I understand. Don't worry, I won't tell the old lady."
Yantai scratched his head and went off to do something.
Ye Cao went inside and put away her umbrella.
"Girl, come in and change your shoes, they're all soaked."
Granny Liu had been waiting for a while and hurriedly invited Ye Cao into the house.
Such a lovely girl, none of the old nannies around Madam Liu disliked her.
Ye Cao thanked Granny Liu and said to Old Madam Liu, "Old Madam, the dishes smell so good today. They look like everything I love. You are so kind to me."
Old Madam Liu said with a loving expression, "You silly girl, you're so good to me. Wen Shu is too busy to come back today, so let's have a good meal together."
She didn't have a daughter when she was young, but her son got married and his wife got along well with him. It's a pity she died young. Later, her wife, Cui, was vicious. Now that she's old, she looks at Ye Cao with joy no matter what.
“The old lady is right, try this.” Ye Cao served food to Old Madam Liu.
But what I was really thinking about was whether the rain would stop.
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